Improved looper for pile fabric tufting machines



March 31, 1959 J. E. SMITH I 3 IMPROVED LOOPER FOR PILE FABRIC TUFTING MACHINES Filed NOVV 12, 1957 F162. FIG I. v I

YARN T SIONING J6 NTR DEVIC INVENTOR: JOHN E. SMITH ATT Y.

United, States Patent IMPROVED LOOPER FOR PILEFABRIC TUFTING MACHINES John E. Smith, Norristown, Pa., assignor to James Lees and Sons Company, Bridgeport, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application November 12, 1957, Serial No. 695,786

7 Claims. (Cl. 112-79) This invention pertains to tufting machines and more particularly to an improved means for engaging and controlling the inserted pile projections formed in the tufting of pile fabrics.

Customarily, a tufting machine of the type used for making rugs, carpets, bedspreads, and the like is provided with a plurality of metallic loopers in the form of oscillating fingers which engage the pile yarn as it is inserted through the backing fabric by the needles. There is a looper for each pile projection carried by every needle. These loopers are mounted on a conventional rockshaft which is oscillated in timed relation to the penetration of the needles.

The present invention contemplates an entirely different form of pile loop engaging and retaining device and for this purpose employs a brush extending across and beneath the throat plate of a tufting machine. The brush is rotated in a direction corresponding to the direction of fabric fed through the tufting machine. The bristles of the brush are preferably formed of a mono-filament synthetic material such as nylon, and these bristles continuously engage the pile projection as it is inserted by the needle to retain the pile loop in the desired location until the fabric travels far enough to permit one or more rows of needle penetration.

A primary object of the invention, therefore, is to provide an improved looper for a tufting machine in the form of a brush having resilient bristles positioned'to engage pile projections.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rotating element having resilient bristles thereon for engaging and retaining pile projections inserted through a backing fabric by the needle of a tufting machine.

Further objects will be apparent from the specification and drawings in which:

Fig. l is a schematic sectional view of a tufting machine to which the present invention has been applied,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional detail showing the manner in which my improved brush looper engages the pile loop projections to retain them when the needles are elevated, and

Fig. 3 is a perspective showing the brush looper removed from the tufting machine.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, a conventional tufting machine is equipped with a needle bar 5 having a plurality of pile needles 6 which are positioned to penetrate a base fabric F progressing across the throat plate 7 of the machine from a feed pin roll 8 and to a take-up pin roll 9. The needle bar 5 is oscillated vertically by means of shafts 10, and a connecting rod 11, which is in turn actuated by crankshaft 12. A housing 13 encloses the above mechanism and a presser foot 14 is secured to the housing 13 by means of a bracket 15.

The pile yarn P is fed to the needles from a source of supply not shown through a suitable feed and/ or tension control mechanism 16 which may be of the type to provide pile projections of various heights in accordance with a pattern. Such pile tension control devices are shown in my United States Patents 2,782,741, 2,782,905, and

British Patent 735,019. From the tensioning or feed control device 16, the yarn P is fed through stationary guides 17 and oscillating guide or thread jerker 18. The apparatus described above is all conventional in the art and is of the type customarily used to fabricate tufted floor coverings. ()rdinarily such tufting machines have from 1200 to 1500 needles, but the present invention is applicable to any tufting machine having from one to 1500 needles.

Instead of the conventional looper assembly, I mount a brush 20 underneath the throat plate 7 and revolve the brush by means of a motor 21 and suitable driving connections 22. Brush 20 is provided with resilient but relatively stiff bristles 23 secured to the hub 24 of the brush (Fig. 2). When the needle 6 is at its point of maximum penetration as shown in Fig. 2, the yarn P carried by each needle is inserted into the bristles of brush 20. Since these bristles are rotating in a counterclockwise direction, as shown by the arrow in Fig. 2, they will brush against the yarn P on the needle 6 and will engage this yarn and retain the loop in its downward position when the needle 6 withdraws upwardly. The continued engagement of the bristles with the yarn will provide the desired tightness in the stitches 25, 25 on the back of the fabric F and the tension in the stitches will, of course, be a function of speed of rotation of brush 20 together with the stiffness of the bristles 23.

It will be understood that the relative length of the bristles 23 and the location of the center line of shaft 26 of the brush can be regulated in accordance with the type of yarn from which the pile projections 27, 28, and 29 are formed to insure that satisfactory tension in stitches in 25 is provided.

A particular advantage of the present invention resides in the fact that the pile loops are more or less floated or resiliently held in the bristle area of brush 20 so that in the case of pattern tufted goods the pile loops can be controlled to provide any desired height of projection. Loop 28, for example, shows a loop which has been pulled up beyond the maximum penetration of needle 6. This pulling up of the loop may take place either when the needle 6 withdraws or it may occur when the subsequent needle penetration takes place. Furthermore, the pulling up of the desired short projections may take place either in or outside of the bristle area of brush 20, or if desired in a point near to the periphery thereof. Since the bristles are bendable, the loops do not have to be engaged at a fixed position as is the case with conventional loopers. This floating action provides a controllable tension which is highly desirable and permits a wide range of patterning to be achieved. The brush looper is much less expensive than the conventional loopers, requires no timing with regard to the needles, and operates for long periods of time without the necessity of maintenance or replacement.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a pile fabric tufting machine having a throat plate over which a supply of backing fabric is adapted to be fed, means for inserting pile projections below said throat plate and through the backing fabric, a shaft journaled below the throat plate and in line with the inserting means, and a brush having a plurality of bristles on said shaft for engaging a single pile projection carried by the inserting means said bristles being relatively resilient.

2. A looper in accordance with claim 1 having means for rotating the shaft.

3. A looper in accordance with claim 1 in which the bristles are formed of a synthetic plastic mono-filament.

4. A looper in accordance with claim 1 in which the bristles of the brush are nylon mono-filaments.

5. In a pile fabric tufting machine having at least one oscillating needle and means adapted to feed a backing fabric to said needle whereby pile projections are formed Whcmthe needleapenetrates ihe backing fabric, the immovement. "which ..comprises a. brush ,movablynmounntedn to engage and retain pile projections inserted through the backing fabric by the needle.

:6. Apparagus. inaccozdancewithclaimfi having means fon rotating the brush.

7 Apparatus in accordance with claim .15 .in zwhich the brushiismnovidedwithha pluralitynf resilient bristieg,

UNITED STATES PATENTS Newman Mar. 28, 1939 Hamrick Nov. 19, 1946 Ballamy 0. Nov. 29, 1949 Smith Feb. 26, 1957 Shattuck Oct. 22, 1957 

